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Brookfield Property Group has stopped “clipping locks” from the TTC pole after a social media storm erupted over the practice.

Lisa Ferguson says her bike disappeared from a pole outside Hudson's Bay centre while she was in a meeting. When she went inside to tell the security staff, they told her that that the building owner -- Brookfield Office Properties -- orders their security staff to remove bikes from the pole. (David Cooper / Toronto Star)

Brookfield’s excuse for cutting bikes off a TTC pole outside their Hudson’s Bay Centre building doesn’t hold up, says a property law expert.

Brookfield Property Group spokesman Andy Willis said they have stopped “clipping locks” from the pole but they removed Toronto resident Lisa Ferguson’s bike and others because they were a trip hazard.

Earlier this week, Ferguson posted on social media that her bike had disappeared after she locked it to a TTC pole at the northeast of Bloor and Yonge Sts. on Wednesday. Both the pole and the surrounding sidewalk are city property.

Ferguson eventually got her bike back but was told by security staff that Brookfield Property Group had instructed them to cut bikes off the pole and store them inside the building. She has since received an apology and an offer of reimbursement for her lock, which cost about $150.

“Our understanding and we’re trying to better understand this with the city and the TTC, what we’re saying is as adjacent property owners we have the right to remove bikes or other objects affixed to the TTC pole if it poses a perceived risk to pedestrians,” said Willis.

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Brookfield told the Star on Thursday that they’d “been told” to take bikes out when they’re on the sidewalk and was “checking on the legality” of whether the sidewalk was public property.

Jeremy de Beer, a professor at the University of Ottawa law school and expert in the field of property law, said the company’s explanation “doesn’t seem right.”

“If it were on their property it would be totally different,” he said.

“Their responsibility and their power ends at their property line.”

De Beer said unless Brookfield had some kind of special agreement with the city, “to say that you just have a right to clear the sidewalk of what you perceive subjectively to be a hazard is pretty far fetched.”

Willis said three bikes were cut down from outside Hudson’s Bay Centre on Wednesday, including Ferguson’s, and they were all claimed by their owners. One was locked to a tree and two were locked to the pole.

“Obviously we’ve stopped doing it and were working with the city council and the TTC to see what we should do going forward,” he said

He said they currently have six bikes in storage but they all were abandoned on public bike racks. He doesn’t know how long the bike removal has been going on or how many bikes have been removed in total.

Willis called the decision to remove bikes from the pole “a Brookfield interpretation of city bylaws.”

“My understanding is that in ‘09 they got sued. A woman tripped over a bike that was attached to a TTC pole and was seriously injured. The City of Toronto, the TTC and Brookfield [were sued]” he told the Star.

The TTC and the city say they don’t have any knowledge of such a lawsuit.

“We have no record of a lawsuit like that. I’ve heard that, I’ve checked with our legal folks and our claims folks, 2009 is not that long ago, and nobody seems to be aware of any such lawsuit,” said TTC spokesperson Brad Ross.

Const. David Hopkinson, of the Toronto Police Service says police did not investigate the specific incident and said he can only speak about the law in general. To his knowledge the police have not been called regarding Brookfield’s bike behaviour. He said the bike cutting is not theft.

“Theft has to have a component where you’re trying to deprive somebody or you’re trying to do a criminal act,” he said.

“It doesn’t appear that Brookfield had the intent to deprive anyone of their property. They only wished it removed off what they believed was their property and they kept it in a safe place and it was returned to the lady. That’s not theft.”

According to Andre Filippetti, manager of Right-of-Way Management with the City of Toronto, even if a bike is a tripping hazard, it’s the city’s job to remove bikes from city property.

He said the city does sometimes remove bikes, but usually only if they are abandoned or derelict.

“We rarely if ever take a bike that’s in obviously good condition and remove it,” he said.

“Only if it’s creating a real obvious impediment or if it’s a real problem,” he said, adding that the city has not received any complaints about bicycles creating a tripping hazard outside the Hudson’s Bay Centre.

“We wouldn’t just go arbitrarily and take a bike away that’s in good shape and somebody’s using for a commuter vehicle off a post,” he said.

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